Troops seized enemy supply in Ilocos Sur

Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija – Troops of the 81st Infantry (SPARTAN) Battalion seized an enemy supply depot that was discovered in a far-flung area in Ilocos Sur on August 21, 2019.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Rodrigo A. Mariñas Jr., they received an information from a concerned citizen regarding the presence of Communist New People's Army Terrorists (CNTs) that led to the discovery of the CNT lair.

Considering the over-all state of the discovered supplies, the troops surmised that it had been buried for weeks already.

The following supplies were recovered from the site: 30 kilos of rice stored in a 30 liter gallon, 15 kgs of rice stored in a 15 liter gallon, one sack of assorted goods including 3 kgs of flour, 3 kgs of brown sugar, 4 liters of fermented fish sauce and 5 liters of cooking oil.

Commenting on the said recovery, Major General Lenard T. Agustin, Commander of the 7th Infanty (Kaugnay) Division, Philippine Army, said, “With the whole Province of Ilocos Sur declaring that CNTs as persona non grata in their communities, the enemy is now highly mobile as they thought it safer to abandon their lair for they know that knowledge of their presence will not be tolerated anymore. This indicates that the whole-of-nation approach to end insurgency is working. And again, I would like to reiterate my call to other provinces, muncipalities and barangays, to adopt the approach so that we can finally put an end to the armed conflict initiated by local communists."

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Mariñas Jr., Commanding Officer of 81IB, said that the troops did well in their appointed tasks and it is only a matter of time for the troops to catch up with the local terrorists. He further expressed his gratitude to people of Ilocos Sur for their renewed cooperation with the security forces by providing vital information. He stressed, “Your Army will all the more be committed to protect the people.”